NAIROBI, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga joined other world leaders in mourning the passing away of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan early Saturday.
Kenyatta said he learned with deep sorrow that Nobel Laureate Kofi Annan had passed away in Switzerland.
"In this moment of sorrow, I condole with his family, relatives and friends. My thoughts and prayers go out to them as they come to terms with this sad news," Kenyatta said in a statement.
Kofi Annan served as the seventh UN Secretary-General for two terms from 1997 to 2006. He was the first African diplomat to hold such a position.
"We pray that the Almighty God will grant his family, relatives and friends the strength and grace to bear the loss," said Kenyatta.
The 80-year-old is renowned in Kenya for having brokered a peace deal between then President Mwai Kibaki and Opposition leader Raila Odinga at the height of the 2007/8 post-election violence that left many displaced and hundreds dead, threatening the very fabric of Kenya's society.
In his message, Odinga who described the passing of Annan as terrible news, said his death is a major blow to the push for respect of human rights across the globe.
"In Kenya, we retain fond memories of Dr. Annan as the man who stepped in and saved the country from collapse following the 2007-2008 post-election violence. Much remains to be done of the plan he proposed for the country as a road map to lasting peace and stability and it is my hope that we could do it in his honor," Odinga said.
He expressed deep gratitude and appreciation of Annan for his dedicated and tireless work in stabilizing the world and encouraging Africa to aspire to higher ideals of democracy, respect for human rights and sound governance as the path to sustainable peace and economic development.
According to Odinga, more than any other UN secretary general, Annan best understood and pushed the world to see the importance of human rights to peace, security, humanitarian affairs, economic and social development.
"The world will always remember and honor Dr. Annan for what became known as 'the Annan Doctrine' in which he made it clear that the need to respect sovereignty cannot be used as a shield by governments to brutalize their own citizens and that the international community has a right to intervene, when governments fail to protect the lives of their citizens," he said.
"That will remain a pillar of hope for many people across the world for generations to come if it can be adhered to. May he rest in eternal peace," Odinga added.
Global leaders mourned Annan as a global statesman and a deeply committed internationalist who fought throughout his life for a fairer and more peaceful world.
Annan who was a son of Ghana and felt a special responsibility towards Africa was particularly committed to African development and deeply engaged in many initiatives, including his chairmanship of the Africa Progress Panel and his early leadership of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa.
